West Nipissing council has taken the next step to replace its municipal police with the OPP.
Council has accepted a service contract with the OPP, however, the decision was not unanimous.
A handful of council members including Mayor Joanne Savage opposed accepting the OPP document as is.
Savage felt elected officials should have more information.
“I know people want it dealt with but they also want us to do due diligence,” Savage said before the vote was taken.
Savage says when the previous council debated the switch to the OPP there was never any mention of a lower level of service.
Now with the paperwork, the OPP sent for signing, Savage isn’t sure what the detailed document includes or doesn’t include.
Savage told her colleagues they could have requested that the OPP be at a meeting before the document is signed.
“The question I wanted to ask the OPP is provide us with your service plan,” she said.
“Tell our people of West Nipissing, for what we’re paying, what will be your service level.”
Savage said if council wanted to vote on the document the OPP sent without having it vetted, then she wouldn’t stand in the way.
But she added when people start asking questions about what service the OPP will provide, her response will be that she doesn’t know.
Councillor Denis Senecal was also concerned about the information in the OPP document.
He believed a lawyer should have looked at it and felt the document “was being shoved down our throats.”
However, the majority of council agreed it was time to move on with the matter including Roly Larabie who said the municipality will be going from 20 municipal police personnel to 60 under the OPP and Jeremy Seguin who said the issue should move forward.
